Russia, which condemned the test, said the possibility of using military measures “should be excluded”.

China’s ambassador Liu Jieyi echoed similar sentiments and said “military means must not be an option”.

He repeated China and Russia’s proposal that North Korea should halt its missile and nuclear programmes in exchange for US and South Korean military exercises in the region being frozen. They also propose reversing plans to deploy a controversial anti-missile system in the South.

Both Russia and China are permanent members of the UN Security Council and could veto any new resolution.

What does North Korea itself say?

The “US strategy of strength” combined with pressure and engagement “will never work”, state news agency KCNA said.

Unless the US stopped its “hostile policy”, North Korea would “never put the nuke and ballistic rocket on the negotiating table”.

Image copyrightKCNA/REUTERSImage captionNorth Korean state TV said the launch was overseen by leader Kim Jong-un

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was earlier quoted as saying Tuesday’s launch was a “gift” to the Americans on their independence day, and that he had ordered officials to “frequently send big and small ‘gift packages’ to the Yankees”.

Pyongyang said the Hwasong-14 ICBM had reached an altitude of 2,802km (1,731 miles) and flown 933km for 39 minutes before hitting a target in the sea.

North Korea, it said, was now “a full-fledged nuclear power that has been possessed of the most powerful inter-continental ballistic rocket capable of hitting any part of the world”.

But while experts agree that the test shows Pyongyang has a long-range projectile, many are sceptical that its missiles can successfully deliver warheads.